THE  CHILD'S 


BOOK    OF    NATURE. 


NUMBER    II. 


LANCASTER  : 

PUBLISHED  BY  CARTER,  ANDREWS,   fc  COMPANY. 

SOLD    BY    CARTER    &    HENDEE,    BOSTON. 


Library,  Univ.  »0f 
North  Carolina  '    ( 


THE  CHILD'S 


THE  ZEBRA 


BOOK   OF   NATURE.  3 

THE    ZEBRA. 

This  beautiful  creature  is  rather  smaller 
than  the  Horse,  and  in  shape  resembles  the 
Mule.  The  skin  of  the  Zebra  is  glossy  and 
smooth,  and  elegantly  variegated  with  regu- 
lar stripes  of  black,  and  sometimes  dark 
brown,  on  a  white  ground.  The  Zebra  is 
found  nowhere  but  in  Africa,  and  large  herds 
of  them  are  frequently  seen  feeding  on  those 
extensive  plains  that  lie  towards  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  ;  but  they  are  so  wild  that  they 
will  not  permit  any  body  to  come  near  them, 
and  their  amazing  swiftness  enables  them  to 
escape  easily.  A  few  have  been  caught,  but 
they  were  so  fierce  and  wild  as  to  be  danger- 
ous to  approach.  The  voice  of  the  Zebra 
has  some  resemblance  to  the  sound  of  a  horn 
or  trumpet. 


THE    CHILD'S 


THE  DROMEDARY. 


V. 


BOOK    OF    NATURE.  5 

THE    DROMEDARY. 

The  Arabian  or  single-hunched  Camel, 
called  the  Dromedary,  is  found  in  various 
parts  of  Asia  and  Africa.  It  cannot  support 
cold  and  moisture  so  well  as  the  Bactrian,  or 
two-hunched  Camel,  and  it  is  smaller  in  size, 
and  swifter  in  travelling.  The  Dromedary 
is  covered  with  soft,  woolly,  short  hair,  except 
on  the  head,  throat,  and  top  of  the  neck,  where 
it  grows  longer.  Its  colour  is  usually  a  red- 
dish gray.  These  animals  travel  the  burning 
sands  of  Arabia  and  Africa,  carrying  burdens 
of  amazing  weight.  They  bend  down  upon 
their  knees,  at  the  command  of  their  drivers, 
to  receive  their  loads.  Their  patience  under 
hunger  is  very  great,  and  they  are  capable  of 
such  long  abstinence  that  they  will  travel 
many  days  without  drink. 


6 


THE  CHILD'S 


THE  LAMA 


BOOK    OF    NATURE.  7 

THE    LAMA. 

The  Lama  is  a  native  of  Peru,  Chili,  and 
other  South  American  provinces.  Its  height 
is  about  four  feet  and  a  half,  and  its  length 
nearly  six  feet.  It  somewhat  resembles  the 
Camel,  but  has  no  hunch  on  its  back.  Its 
colour  is  white,  gray,  and  russet,  disposed  in 
spots.  The  Lama  is  used  for  the  same  pur- 
pose as  the  Camel,  and  w^ill  travel  four  or  five 
days  without  seeming  to  require  rest :  they 
will  then  rest  for  20  or  30  hours,  and  cannot 
be  driven  before  they  choose  to  proceed.  On 
drivers  attempting  to  force  them  they  have 
been  known  to  kill  themselves  by  striking 
their  head  against  the  ground  in  a  rage. 
Their  mode  of  expressing  anger  is  by  eject- 
ing their  saliva,  which  has  erroneously  been 
supposed  to  have  a  corrosive  quality. 


8 


THE  CHILD'S 


THE  KANGUROO, 


BOOK    OF  NATURE.  9 

THE  KANGUROO. 

This  animal  is  a  native  of  New  South 
Wales,  and  is  generally  about  as  large  as  a 
Sheep.  Its  colour  is  a  pale  brown,  with  a 
little  white  underneath.  It  feeds  on  herbs 
and  grass,  and  lives  in  burrows  under  ground, 
in  the  fields.  Its  hind  legs  are  a  great  deal 
longer  than  its  fore  legs,  which  enables  it  to 
bound  forward  in  springs  of  nine  feet  in 
height,  and  twenty  in  length.  When  it  rests 
it  sits  erect  on  its  hind  feet.  The  Kanguroo 
has  so  much  strength  in  its  tail,  which  is 
large  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  body,  as 
to  be  able  to  break  a  man's  leg  with  one 
blow.  Its  head  bears  some  resemblance  to 
that  of  the  Deer  ;  the  ears  are  remarkably 
large  and  erect,  the  eyes  full,  and  the  mouth 
rather  small. 


10 


THE  CHILD'S 


THE    BADGER. 


BOOK    OF    NATURE.  J  J 

THE    BADGER. 

The  Badger  is  about  two  feet  and  a  half 
long  ;  the  legs  and  the  under  parts  of  the 
body  are  all  black,  the  other  part  of  a  dirty 
gray  ;  the  hair  is  very  coarse  ;  the  legs  and 
feet  are  very  short  and  strong,  and  with  its 
fore  feet  it  digs  a  hole,  and  forms  its  habita- 
tion in  the  ground.  It  feeds  on  roots,  grass^ 
insects,  frogs,  &c.,  but  eats  only  in  the  night, 
remaining  in  its  hole  throughout  the  day. 
It  sleeps  a  grea.t  part  of  the  time  and  is  very 
fat  during  the  winter  season.  The  Badger 
is  easily  tamed,  and  its  flesh  is  eaten,  though 
it  is  rank  and  ill-tasted.  When  surprised 
by  dogs  at  some  distance  from  its  hole,  it 
falls  upon  its  back,  combats  with  great  re- 
solution, and  seldom  dies  unrevenged  on  its 
enemies. 


12 


THE  CHILD'S 


THE   GLUTTON. 


BOOK  OF  NATURE*  jg 

THE   GLUTTON. 

The  Glutton  is  found  in  Siberia  and  the 
north  parts  of  America,  and  is  sometimes 
called  the  Carcajou.  It  is  three  or  four  feet 
long,  of  a  blackish  brown  colour,  except  the 
sides,  which  are  of  a  dusky  hue,  and  the 
paws,  which  are  white.  It  is  a  voracious 
creature,  and  lurks  among  the  thick  branches 
of  trees.  It  carries  with  it  into  the  tree  a 
kind  of  moss  of  which  Deers  are  very  fond, 
and  throws  it  down  when  a  herd  approaches, 
and  if  a  Deer  stops  to  eat,  the  Glutton  imme- 
diately darts  down  upon  it,  sticks  his  claws 
between  its  shoulders,  where  it  continues  to 
eat  till  the  Deer  falls  exhausted  with  loss 
of  blood  ;  and  the  Glutton  continues  eating 
in  the  most  greedy  manner,  till  it  can  scarcely 
move. 


14 


THE  CHILD'S 


THE   PORCUPINE. 


BOOK   OF  NATURE.  15 

THE    PORCUPINE. 

The  Porcupine  inhabits  Asia  and  Africa, 
and  though  so  formidable  in  its  appearance 
is  a  very  harmless  animal.  It  is  about  two 
feet  long,  and  its  body  is  covered  with  quills, 
which  are  from  ten  to  fourteen  inches  long, 
sharp  pointed,  and  thickest  in  the  middle  ; 
and  these  are  variegated  with  black  and 
white  rings.  In  their  usual  state  they  incline 
backwards,  but  when  the  animal  is  irritated, 
they  rise  and  stand  upright.  When  the  Por- 
cupine is  roused  to  self-defence  even  the  Lion 
dare  not  assail  him.  He  kills  serpents  by 
forming  himself  into  a  ball,  and  then  rolling 
his  quills  over  them.  It  is  supposed  by  some, 
that  the  quills  have  a  poisonous  quality,  which 
renders  it  difficult  to  cure  the  wounds  inflicted 
by  them. 


THE  CHILD'S  BOOK  OF  BrATURX! 

is  published  in  numbers,  of  16  pages  each,  containing  seven 
painted  pictures  of  animals,  with  short  descriptions.  They  will 
be  found  very  pretty,  interesting,  and  useful  books  for  children. 


